Apparatus for replacing an old track by a new track



July 21,1970

F. PLASSER ET AL APPARATUS FOR REPLACING AN OLD TRACK BY A NEW TRACK Filed June 20, 1968 Q 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 v INVENTORS. FRANZ LRSSE v To 'BY AGENT July 21, 1970 PLASSER ET AL APPARATUS FOR REPLACING AN OLD TRACK BY A NEW TRACK I Filed June 20, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 mm. N 5

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INVENTORS. 1- R AML mass a1 56? THuJi-R BY 6 err United States Patent Office 3,521,565 Patented July 21, 1970 Int. 01. how 29/05 US. Cl. 104--4 12 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A work train is moved continuously along a right of way, with a forward section moving on the rails of an old track section and a rear section moving on the rails of a newly laid track section. In an intermediate section, the ends of the old rails are lifted up and supported on the cars of the rear train section as the train advances and the old rail ends remain connected to the rails. Simultaneously, continuous lengths of new rails are supported on the cars of the forward train section and their ends are laid in the intermediate section While the ends remain connected to the rails.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the continuously progressing replacement of old track by new track by means of a train moving along a right of way consisting of a section of old track, a section of new track and an intermediate section wherein the old track is replaced by the new track. The replacement preferably includes not only the two track rails but also the ties whereon the rails are supported.

Track replacement trains running on the regular track gage are known, and such apparatus has been disclosed, for instance, in our US. Pat. No. 3,330,219. During the replacement operation, the track rails are spread apart to permit the old ties to be removed and the new ties to be laid, and this has caused undesirable stresses in the rails, such stresses being particularly great in track curves where the outer rail is longer than the inner rail, and also due to temperature changes. Also, known methods and apparatus of this type involved considerable wear and tear on the rails due to the mechanical handling of the same during the operation.

It is the primary object of the present invention to obviate these disadvantages and to minimize the stresses, wear and tear on the track rails.

It is another object of this invention to facilitate the transport and laying of the new track, and the taking up and removal of the old track in a single operation and at a minimum expenditure of energy, time and personnel.

It is also an object of the invention to combine the replacement of the ties with that of the track rails in a most favorable manner.

These and other objects are accomplished in accordance with the invention by loosening the rails of the old track section from the ties whereon they are supported, lifting the ends of the loosened rails of the old track section in the intermediate section of the right of way and supporting the lifted rail ends on the rear section of the train while the same moves continuously and while the rail ends remain connected with the rails in the old rail section. Simultaneously, the ends of the rails of the new track section are supported on the forward section of the train while the train moves continuously, and the rails of the new track section are laid in the intermediate section while their ends remain connected to the newly laid rails. The forward section of the train moves on the rails of the old track section and the rear section of the train moves on the rails of the new track section, and the rails of the new and old track sections are staggered in realtion to the track axis in the intermediate section.

The rails are supported on the train with a minimum of friction as the train moves in relation to the rails so that stresses are held to a minimum even when the course of the rails changes in relation to the track axis, for instance when the rails are spread, or in track curves or under conditions of temperature changes.

According to an important characteristic of this invention, the new rails and the old rails are transported and supported on a plurality of cars in the forward and rear train section, respectively, the new rails being pulled off the forward train section in the intermediate section of the right of Way by the continuous forward movement of the train, and the old rails being pushed onto the rear section of the train behind the intermediate section.

Thus, the rails of the old and new track sections do not move in realtion to the ballast bed but only in relation to the moving train. If the friction of the rails on the supports is minimal, their wear and tear during the entire replacement operation is also minimal.

As previously indicated, this method is particularly useful when the entire track, including the ties, is to be replaced. In this case, the rails of the old and new track are spread apart in the intermediate section on a horizontal plane to a lateral spacing at least equal to the length of the ties so that the old ties may be removed and the new ties replaced perpendicularly to the track axis between the spread rails. Perferably, the rails are spread apart for a distance beyond the intermediate section on the track cars in the forward and rear train sections adjacent the intermediate section.

At the point where the rails of the old and new track cross each other, they are supported at different horizontal levels, and where they are at the same level, they are supported adjacent each other so that the old and new rails do not interfere with each other during replacement. Advantageously, this point is in front of the cars arranged to receive the old ties in the direction of movement of the train.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING The above and other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of an apparatus designed to move continuously along a right of way to replace the ties and rails of an existing track with a new track, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIGS. 1 and 2 are schematic top views of the entire arrangement, the views being separated into two figures merely for the sake of convenience to avoid showing the various parts of the rather long arrangement on too small a scale, FIG. 1 showing the forward portion in the direction of movement of the apparatus, as indicated by the arrow, while FIG. 2 illustrates the rear portion, the two portions being contiguous along lines '1 and II of the figures;

FIGS. 3 and 5 are schematic side views, on an enlarged scale, of the track replacement section III-VI of FIG. 1, the views being separated into two figures merely for the sake of convenience, FIG. 3 showing the forward portion and FIG. 5 the rear portion, the two portions being contiguous along lines V and -III of the figures;

FIGS. 4 and 6 are respective top views of FIGS. 3 and 5, the two portions being contiguous along lines VI and IV of the figures; and

FIG. 7 shows a detail of an apparatus for placing the ties.

3 DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring now to the drawing and first to the overall arrangement shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the horizontal arrows indicate the direction of movement of the apparatus along the right of way during the track renewal operation. This apparatus moves continuously in the direction of the arrows at an approximate speed of about three to five meters per minute, and consists of a train including a forward locomotive 1 and a rear locomotive 1' which pull, respectively push, the train along the track. Seven flat freight cars 2 carry the rail sections for the new rails to be laid, followed by a work car 3 on which the rail sections are connected to form continuous rails. Normally, rail sections are delivered in lengths of about 120 meters, and these sections are welded together on car 3 to form the two continuous rails of the new track.

The work car 3 is followed by six fiat freight cars 4 which carry the old ties previously removed from the right of way, and a loading car 5 for the old ties precedes the track replacement section IIIVI. This section is about 60 to 70 meters long and constitutes the actual track renewal or replacement section wherein the old rails are removed and new rails are laid and, preferably, new ties are substituted for the old ties.

Immediately behind the track replacement section follow loading cars 6, 6' for the new ties, succeeded by fourteen flat freight cars 7 for the new ties, a work car 8, on which the removed old rails are cut into sections which can be more readily transported, and seven flat freight cars 9 which carry the old rail sections coming from work car 8.

For claritys sake, the new rails 10 are shown in full lines while the old rails 11 are indicated in chain-dotted lines. It will be understood, of course, that the term new rails or ties, as used throughout the specification and the claims, refers only to the fact that they form part of a newly laid track and that such replacement rails and/or ties may, in fact, be used and restored parts.

The replacement of the track rails 11 by new track rails '10 in section IIIVI is best shown in FIGS. 3 to 6. FIG. 3 shows the last car 4 of the train carrying the old ties, with the loading car 5 for the old ties being coupled thereto, the description proceeding opposite to the direction of movement of the apparatus as indicated by the horizontal arrows. The locomotive 1, the freight cars 2 and 4, the work car 3 and the loading car 5 all run on wheels on the existing track rails 11 which are replaced in section IIIVI by the new track rails 10. The loading cars 6, 6, the freight cars 7, work car 8, freight cars 9 and locomotive 1' run on wheels on the new track.

Track 13 for a trolley crane 14 are provided on the platforms of flat cars 4 and 5. The crane has an outrigger or pivotal boom to take old ties collected and stacked in a bin 15, and to stack these old ties on the cars 4, loading first the front car and successive cars thereafter as the replacement operation proceeds. The old ties are picked up from the ballast by a fork lift truck 16 which collects several ties at a time and places them on a conveyor 17 which continuously moves the old ties into the bin on car 5 whence the crane 14 removes them for subsequent storage on freight cars 4. The conveyor has suitable entrainment elements for the ties and is mounted on a carrier 17' which is pivotally coupled to the loading car 5. The free end of the conveyor carrier rests on a full-track vehicle 18 which moves on the ballast 22. No track is in position between cars 5 and 6 of the apparatus so that all vehicles operating in this section must be equipped with means for running on the ballast, such as full or half tracks, wheels with pneumatic tires, or the like.

Laterally extending from each side of freight cars 4, loading car 5 and conveyor carrier 17 are a series of guide rollers 19 spaced apart along the right of way for support of the welded new track rails 10. A series of such guide rollers 19 are similarly mounted on the conveyor carrier 17' and the succeeding vehicles including freight cars 7, the distance of these guide rollers from the ballast gradually increasing from carrier 17 backwards so that the guide rollers will pick up the old track rails 11 underneath the conveyor 17 (see FIG. 3) from old ties 12 and lift them to a desired height as the apparatus slowly and continuously moves along the right of 'way.

Before the track renewal operation begins, the permanent track bolts holding the rack rails on the ties are removed or loosened and the rails are provisionally held in position at points spaced about five to ten meters apart, which will. be perfectly safe since the apparatus moves at very slow speed during the track replacement. Lifting of the old rails from the support platelets on the ties will be facilitated by mounting a vibrator 20 on car 5, which will glide over the surface of the ties.

As the apparatus moves ahead, the guide rollers 19 on cars 4 and 5, conveyor carrier 17 and fork lift truck 16 will slowly move the welded new track rails 10 into thetrack renewal section IIIVI, the old rails 11 and the new rails 10 being at the same horizontal level or distance from the ballast at the guide rollers 19 on fork lift truck 16, as seen in FIG. 3. Actually the track rails do not move in relation to the ballast but only in relation to the continuously moving apparatus. In other words, the old and new track rails actually remain stationary in the direction of track elongation during the entire renewal operation in section IIIVI. They are laterally spaced from the track rails on the ballast during the replacement operation. During this operation (see FIG. 1), the old and new track rails are spread apart by the guide rollers 19 to a distance equal at least to the length of the ties so that the old ties may be removed and new ties laid between the spread track rails perpendicularly to the elongation of the track. Thus, in the preferred embodiment described and illustrated herein, the new rails are laid on new ties, the old ties as well as the old rails being removed.

To improve the ballast bed on which the new track is laid, a ballast leveling vehicle 21 follows the fork lift truck 16 to level the surface of the ballast and thus to prepare it properly for the new track. This may be followed further by a tamping vehicle 25 carrying surface tampers 24 for compacting the leveled ballast before the new ties are laid. Vehicles 21 and 25 also carry quide rollers 19 for the track rails, as do the succeeding cars 6, 6', 7 for guiding the old track rails 11 in a manner similar to the manner in which the guide rollers on the front portion of the apparatus carry new rails 10.

A track 13' for loading cranes 28 interconnects the flat cars 7 carrying the new ties with the loading cars 6, 6'. The loading car 6 carries an outrigger 26 which is pivotally mounted above the section of the right of way where the new ties are to be laid and suspended by ropes or struts 26. A trolley 27 runs on the outrigger and receives new ties 23 from cranes 28 which run on track 13' in the direction of the small arrows shown in FIG. 5. Groups of new ties 23- are transferred from trolley 27 to the small carriage 29 underneath the overhanging end of outrigger 26, whence the new ties are laid out on the ballast ready to receive the new track rails. The carriage 29 is coupled to the preceding ballast tamping vehicle 25 by means of an hydraulically adjustable coupling 30 so that the distance between vehicle 25 and carriage 29 may be changed. While the apparatus is moved from one work location to another, the carriage 29 may be lifted by trolley 27 and transported on car 6. As shown in chaindotted lines in FIG. 6; the pivotal mounting of outrigger 26 makes it possible to proceed without difliculty in track curves with a radius up to 200 In.

As the apparatus proceeds continuously along the right of way, the new track rails 10 carried by guide rollers 19 are gradually lowered ontothe new ties 23 under the outrigger 26 as best seen in FIG. 5, the new rails being released from the guide rollers at the outer end of the outrigger 26. A gliding or rolling lining device 31 at the forward end of car 6 serves to align the new ties properly in respect of the track axis and the new track rails are first only provisionally secured to the new ties, at an approximate spacing of about 5 to 10 m. Meanwhile, the old track rails are guided upwardly 01f the ballast bed by a series of guide rollers 19 on cars 7 until they reach the work car 8 on which the rolled rails are cut into sections of about 120 m. lengths for transport on cars 9.

FIG. 7 schematically illustrates an apparatus on carriage 29 for placing the new ties on the ballast bed. A suitable tie gripping implement 32 has a series of the tie gripping elements, which may be operated mechanically, pneumatically or magnetically, for instance, to seize a group of adjacent ties 23, for instance six, and to place three of these ties on the ballast bed 22, as shown in full lines at the right of FIG. 7, the lug 33 of gripping implement 32 automatically providing the proper spacing from the last-laid new tie 23' of the preceding group of ties. The tie gripping implement is then raised with the remaining three ties of the group, as shown in full lines in FIG. 7, pushed forwardly in the direction of the arrow, and lowered onto the ballast bed, as shown in chaindotted lines. A second stop 34 then provides the proper spacing from the forward tie 23 of the three ties just laid.

An even simpler implement could use the rearmost tie of the entire group instead of stop 34 so that seven ties could be laid simultaneously.

While the invention has been illustrated in connection with certain preferred embodiments, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many structural modifications and variations are possible without changing the function of the apparatus or the principle of the method.

We claim:

1. An apparatus for replacing an old track by a new track consisting of two rails supported on ties, comprising a train including a plurality of cars for movement along a right of way consisting of a section of old track, a section of new track and an intermediate section wherein the old track is replaced by the new track, said train consisting of a forward section moving on the old track rails and a rear section moving on the new track rails, the cars of the forward train section transporting and supporting the rails of the new track and the rails of the new track being laid in said intermediate section as the train moves, and the cars of the rear train section transporting and supporting the rails of the old track and the rails of the old track being pushed onto the cars of the rear train section as the train moves.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the forward train section also includes cars receiving and transporting the ties of the old track section, and the rear train section also includes cars transporting and placing the ties of the new track section in said intermediate section of the right of way, said tie transporting cars being between the intermediate section and the rail transport cars.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising means for loading and conveying the ties, as well as for positioning the new ties.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the positioning means for the new ties includes a car adjacent the intermediate section, and a laterally pivotal outrigger mounted on the latter car and extending over said intermediate section.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, further comprising a trolley running on said outrigger, crane means running on the cars transporting the new tie-s and delivering groups of said new ties to the trolley, and a carriage underneath the outrigger and receiving the groups of new ties from the trolley.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, further comprising a tie gripping implement on said carriage, said implement being arranged to hold successive ones of said groups of ties and to be moved vertically and horizontally for positioning said successive groups of ties on the ballast in said intermediate section.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the tie gripping implement is arranged to hold and lift said groups of ties closely adjacent each other, to position a partial group consisting of every other tie of said group on the ballast in a first operation, and to position the remaining ties of said group on the ballast forwardly of the first positioned partial group.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the tie gripping implement has at least one lug cooperating with a next adjacent previously positioned tie for spacing the group of ties in relation to said previously positioned tie.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the forward train section includes a front section of said cars carrying new rails in discontinuous lengths and a work car coupled.

thereto for welding the discontinuous lengths of new rails into two continuous lengths of rails which are laid in said intermediate section.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the rear train section includes a work car for cutting the continuous lengths of the rails of the old track section into discontinuous lengths, and a back section of said cars coupled to the latter work car for carrying the discontinuous lengths of the old rails.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising laterally extending guide means on at least most of the cars of the forward and rear train sections adjacent the intermediate section of the right of way for supporting the continuous lengths of the new and old rails with a minimum of friction whereby the rails are supported on said train cars for relative movement in respect to the train as the latter moves.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 further comprising mobile apparatus for leveling and tamping ballast in the intermediate section of the right of way, said apparatus also having said laterally extending guide means for the rails.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,997,001 8/1961 Scheuchzer 104-2 3,286,648 1l/l966 Brosnan l042 3,288,082 11/1966 Brosnan 104-2 ARTHUR L. LA POINT, Primary Examiner R. A. BERTSCH, Assistant Examiner U.S. C1. X.R. 1042 

